Moldovan PM participates in Munich Leaders Meeting

Chisinau, 29 November /MOLDPRES/ - Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita today participated in the Munich Leaders Meeting – a format of the Munich Security Conference. The event, held in Bucharest, brought together high-level participants from over 25 states, officials, experts and opinion makers, the government’s communication and protocol department has reported.   

In her speech given at the opening of the session titled, Dark Clouds Over the Black Sea? Regional Security in Flux, the Moldovan PM referred to the social and economic consequences of the war in Ukraine for the neighbor countries, such as Moldova, as well as for the entire world. The prime minister touched upon the interruption of the chains of supply with food products, limiting of producers’ access to traditional export markets, pressures on the national budget in the context of the management of the flow of refugees and adaptation of the transport and logistics infrastructure. Nevertheless, Moldova considerably contributed to the maintaining of the commercial routes which connect Ukraine with Romania’s Black Sea coast, completing Turkey’s efforts as regards the corridor of cereals through Bosphorus.      

„Moldova has proved to be a reliable provider of food security and alternatives of transport, thus contributing to the maintaining of the economic importance of the Black Sea on the whole. At the same time, the small distance from our country to the first line and the absence of a security umbrella continues to make us the most vulnerable among the neighbours of Ukraine – we are under a growing pressure, so that we will need additional assistance on behalf of our partners from the West. Only in this way, we can contribute to the security of the Back Sea region on all its dimensions,’’ Natalia Gavrilita said.        

The PM stressed that the biggest threats presently faced by Moldova were dealing with the hybrid war and the energy security. In the last seven months, Gazprom increased the prices for natural gas by about seven times, with decreases of the quantities delivered registered. Moreover, Moldova is now facing a crisis of supply with electric energy. Because of the technical inter-connections of the electricity networks, the Russian attacks against the Ukrainian energy infrastructure automatically lead to the disconnection of the power supply in Moldova.    

„I cannot imagine in what situation we would have found ourselves now, without the help of our Romanian friends, who backed us with deliveries of electric energy and crude oil. We face challenges which, if they are not approached together with our trans-Atlantic and European partners, run the risk of leading to an enhanced instability  in the Black Sea region,’’ the prime minister emphasized.  

In the context, the PM highlighted the importance of improving the political dialogue and practical cooperation with EU and NATO, including in tackling the hybrid threats and combating the misinformation. ‘’We must never give up the hope that, at a certain moment, the reason and humanity will prevail. Till then, we should remain vigilant and united with EU, NATO and all countries from the Black Sea region, which promote peace and prosperity,’’ Natalia Gavrilita said.   

Photo: Government